Deanna's Health Journey....Revealed!

How I Changed my Health, Lost 25lbs and 25 Inches!

Deanna Gipperich, Practice Manager of Enlighten

My health stems not only from bad eating, but a difficult past as well. I was involved in three major car accidents, extended hospital stays and surgeries. I lost my sister to cancer and my best friend in one of my car accidents. I had fertility problems, an ectopic pregnancy and lost a child when he was 2 months old due to a heart defect. These resulted in a lot of stress on my system, which created the perfect health problems including headaches, inflammation, weight gain, anxiety and fatigue. We all have a story, and you probably don't realize how much your history can be a direct factor in your health.

Why do I share all of this? Let's face it, life can be stressful... kids, spouses, work, finances, sickness, etc. I realized I had to find out what would work best for my system. I also knew I had to stop turning to food for comfort and get control. We don't realize how BIG of an impact food has on our body. We all have stress and issues that interfere in our commitment to ourselves! It's important to learn you have to overcome your addiction to food due to circumstances. Learning to balance the inner voice is a hurdle! That is why at Enlighten we encourage accountability. You need to give up the excuses to succeed.

Deanna's before and after picture taken in Dec 2015 and in Dec 2016. Total transformation time...3 months.

How did I succeed? I made an action plan and stuck with it! I did a supervised Anti-Inflammatory Ketogenic Diet (AI Keto), with personalized adjustments by Dr. Emily, and completed a myriad of diagnostic tests which guided our treatment approach. The amazing health benefits of this approach was scientific, and simply cannot be disputed (plus the weight loss was a huge side benefit for me). While other diets focus on the amount of food being consumed and its nutritive value, the AI Keto diet is unique in that it focuses on calorie sources. The main philosophy is that a person can get their body to burn fat efficiently by exercising and eating the right caloric balance of fats, carbohydrates and protein. With this plan I lost body fat, not lean muscle! The right portions and the right foods restored harmony to my hormones and metabolism. This was not a “diet” for me, this is a lifestyle change! Was this an investment? Yes, but not any different than my previous attempts, such as hiring a personal trainer to optimize my health.

Did I have moments where I ate bad food? Yes. Were there times when I felt like I was doing everything right but still not achieving my goals? Yes. "There was even a whole month where I did not lose a single pound, only inches!" This was damn hard! I was doing everything right, it frustrated me! I did not let this deter me though, and I was determined to continue because I was feeling better.

Did my friends and family eat bad food in front of me? Yes. How did I get thru this? I did not allow myself to be controlled by cravings all the time. The questions you need to ask yourself, what do you want to get out of life? What kind of life do you want to live? I got involved in the AI Keto living because I wanted to nourish my body. I wanted relief of pain, better sleep, better energy, improved mood, relief of digestive discomfort, and improved mental clarity. I was sick of cravings. I was tired of blood sugar highs and lows. I wanted to feel more confident about my body. I wanted to feel better!

Key to success: Your desire must outweigh your excuses.

How can we help you? I’m not perfect, I slip and struggle occasionally by letting busyness and emotions give me “excuses” to be more lax with my eating! This is where accountability is key! Changing your life, in my experience, has to come from a place of soul and emotional connection to be successful. I love working with Dr. Emily because we are all about support. It's a team approach, like none I have ever seen. Learn to love yourself, trust your support network and trust the program. PLEASE join me as we enter the upcoming new year for a Better You!

DISCLAIMEREnlighten and Dr. Emily Hecker are providing information and services on this website as a benefit to our users. The information and services on this website are provided solely for general illustration, educational and resource provision purposes and are not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your healthcare professional or physician.